


A pair of scissors

by SilverMaxwell (Endless_beginnings)



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: Blood, First Kiss, M/M, a crazy pete best fan, kinda a love confession, mentions of pete best, stab wounds, that should sum it up well enough, uhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21596590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endless_beginnings/pseuds/SilverMaxwell
Summary: ( Me and two other people realized we injur ringo too much, so we set our sights on George)A Pete best fan seeks Ringo out after a show. George saves him.
Relationships: George Harrison/Ringo Starr
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	A pair of scissors

**Author's Note:**

> as to quote @ineedyoubygeorgeharrison on tumblr:  
> 'SO @silver-maxwell((which is me asgfhg)) AND @nowandthenoldfriend AND MYSELF DECIDED "HEY LET'S GO STAB GEORGE WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS" AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE DID

The sun was just starting to set when a gaggle of girls approached them at the back of the club. Though with the sheer amount of them pushing their way towards the boys, it was closer to a small crowd than a gaggle, all of them talking at once, all of them trying to be the one to catch their attention the most.

Mal narrowly managed to avoid knocking a girl with an amp as they crowded the four band members. One of the girls who had practically led the crowd stepped forward, batting her lashes with a flirty smile as she held out her book.

“Can I have an autograph?” She held a pen out to Paul, who happily accepted it with a charming smile.

“Of course.”

Similar exchanges were occurring with the others, each girl handing over their own autograph book as some tried their chances in securing a date with one of them.

Well, George and John were having similar exchanges. Ringo was a different case.

Of course, a few had recognized him, having seen him play with Rory and the hurricanes in the past, but this was a ‘ _Beatles_ ’ crowd.

While all the other girls happily surrounded the band, one seemed to be observing the area, perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she noticed a certain someone missing amongst the crowd.

“Where’s Pete?” She asked, voice cutting through the chattering of young girls.

The noise died down a bit, John stopped signing his name midway through an ‘e’ as he looked up to share a look with Paul and George.

Paul awkwardly fiddled with his tie as George cleared his throat, catching her attention.

“Best doesn’t play with us anymore.”

This fact wasn’t new.

Pete Best hadn’t even played with them in a month and they’ve had quite a few performances since then.

It seemed to be new information to the girl.

“ _What_?” She shrieked, voice going up an octave. The other girls began to talk in hushed voices.

Yes, people had been upset with the change of drummers. Most had been sad, others had been livid.

This girl was _heartbroken_.

“ _Edith!_ ” A blonde-haired girl ran up. She grabbed ‘Edith’ into a hug and pushed her away from the group as she sobbed.

Ringo flinched back a bit as he listened to her cries fade in the distance.

A trio of girls nearby watched in disbelief. One wearing a plaid skirt tisked to the other two. “She’s obsessed with Pete, y’know, the last time she saw him she wouldn’t leave his side for a second.”

“Really? I don’t blame her though, have you seen his hair-” The shorter of the three continued to ramble on but by then Ringo had checked out of the conversation.

The drummer nervously fiddles with the cuffs of his jacket as he silently hoped that would be the worst incident tonight over Best.

“Alright, lads! Everything’s set up!” Mal’s voice catches their attention from the backdoor entrance as he waves them over. The others finish chatting up the girls and Ringo trails behind them as they enter.

Their performance isn’t even over yet but Ringo counts it as a success. The main reason is that not a single person has booed him from the crowd. No name-calling or chants of “Pete forever, Ringo never!” to drown out the music.

It's fine up until midway through the set.

Ringo doesn't usually focus on the crowd, oftentimes while he drums he drifts off into his thoughts as playing was second nature to him.

The drummer takes a moment to look at his band members; John is singing one of their songs into the front and center mic, Paul is close by, playing and shooting the crowd a smile. George is standing in front of Ringo's drum set, partially blocking his view of the crowd (not that Ringo cares, really).

The song ends and people cheer. The trio in front of Ringo shifts around as George moves to a mic, as they would all be singing the next song.

Once George walks off he spots her in the crowd.

‘Edith’ his mind provides.

She’s sitting by the bar, a small group of girls chatting away near her but she pays no attention to them. in fact, she looks rather indifferent.

 _Eerily_ indifferent.

Her hands are resting on her lap, clutching a small purse, her long legs are elegantly crossed and she's just staring at Ringo. But there was no anger in her eyes. No sadness, no emotion, no...Anything for that matter. She was just staring at Ringo with a blank look on her face, and it wasn't like she was spacing off either. No, her piercing gaze was fixed right upon those bright blue eyes belonging to the drummer, almost like she was trying to look into his very soul.

A shiver goes up his spine as he begins to feel unnerved, she's a good distance away from where he is but it doesn't change how creeped out he is.

Ringo gives her a smile, or rather attempts to fake one and turns in his seat a bit to look around the large room.

The song ends and he adjusts himself, Paul steps up to the mic to announce the next one. A gentler, romantic one.

George starts to play first and the rest come in, Ringo plays at a much more steadier rhythm and makes sure to keep his drums _soft_ if that makes any sense.

His eyes sweep the crowd again, he tries not to linger too long at Edith but he can't help but turn back every so often.

A guy approaches her, he's dressed rather nicely and a few girls ogle him as he walks by, he talks to her for a few moments but when she doesn't even bother acknowledging him he awkwardly slinks back away into the crowd.

Edith is certainly…Strange.

Their performance ends and it's around midnight, people shuffle out of the club but all four of them remain on stage, Mal every so often comes on to help pick up the cords and amps.

Ringo picks up the last of his drum set and makes his way down the stairs and out the back door where a van waits to take the equipment back to the studio.

Ringo grunts as he puts the bass drum into the van.

The night air is cool, a chilled breeze passes, stinging his cheeks when _she_ eventually arrives

It's dark outside but the glow from the street lights illuminate the back alleyway just enough to recognize people from a decent distance away.

Edith is carrying a small notebook with her, this time she's alone, no friends tagging along (or rather the other way around, really).

Everyone else is busy still packing and don't really pay attention to them. Edith clears her throat.

"Excuse me, but…Would you mind signing my autograph book?"

Ringo blinks, he _definitely_ hadn't been expecting that, and especially from her of all people.

"Oh, uh...Of course."

She hands him the book as he quickly pats himself down for something to write with, finding nothing.

"Do you have a pen I could use?" He asks, unable to keep himself from sounding somewhat awkward.

Edith just nods.

George hands off his guitar case to Mal with a small "thanks".

The others are still milling about inside the club, taking advantage of the free drinks the owner of the place had offered them for a performance well done.

"Where's Ritchie?" George asks the group around the bar after a brief look around the place.

John shrugs as Paul thinks for a moment.

"He was talking to a bird just a bit earlier, maybe he's still outside?" Paul supplies as he's handed another drink by the owner, who's currently chatting with Brian.

George simply nods and heads out to retrieve their drummer.

It's dark out but he can still see the glint of the metal in the girl’s hand.

Panic rises in George’s chest at the sight and he doesn't even hesitate as he rushes towards the pair, not stopping to think about what he’s doing as he pushes Ringo aside.

He doesn't even realize what he’s done at first until he suddenly feels an intense pain as a rather sharp pair of scissors is thrust into his side.

Mal shows up just a moment too late, throwing the girl to the ground in an attempt to keep her away from the now injured guitarist. The scissors clatter against the ground and he kicks them to the side, treating them like a loaded gun rather than a simple crafts tool.

There’s a warm and sticky substance starting to run down George's side and when he places his hand there, it comes back wet with a horrible ruby red substance that he recognizes almost immediately.

_Blood._

When Ringo had first seen the scissors he was mostly confused.

When he noticed the tight grip on them, the way she held them by the handle and how the blades were pointed directly at _him_ , that confusion was immediately replaced fear.

Time seemed to slow down as he held up his arms in an attempt to block her (what was he even thinking? He needed his hands to play for God’s sake!)

And then George came.

George had pushed him so hard his back hit the van behind him, almost losing his balance and falling to the ground in the process.

Edith must have been unable to stop herself or realized her intended target was no longer in front of her just a bit too late.

All Ringo could do was watch in horror as the small, sharp scissors dig into George's hip, piercing through his dress shirt and into his skin.

Suddenly Edith disappears from in front of them but Ringo couldn't care less at the moment, right now he had George to check on.

Ringo grabs the younger by his arm as George staggers slightly, Ringo tries not to stare at the blood painting George's hip and attempts to make eye contact with the taller.

“George! Are…Are you alright?” As soon as Ringo says this he feels like an idiot. His best friend is bleeding out in front of him and he asks if he’s ‘ _alright_ ’.

“ _Bloody hell,_ ” George cursed in response, gritting his teeth as he tried to stop his new wound from bleeding even more.

“What’s going on out here?” a posh voice yelled out. They both turned around to see Eppy walk out the back door entrance, surveying the scene with a mixture of anger and worry on his features.

George was leaning on Ringo at that point, and Ringo, in turn, wrapped an arm over his shoulders to keep him steady (though Ringo wouldn’t admit it at the moment, it was also to keep George close by).

“That bird tried to stab Ringo!” George hissed out through the pain, sending a glare to the girl, who was being held in a tight grip by the arm by a rather pissed off Mal.

“ _She stabbed George!_ ” Ringo added, voice cracking at the realization that George was more upset over at the attempted attack on _him_ than the fact that he had actually been _stabbed_.

“She _what_?” Brian turned to give the girl a disbelieving look which quickly morphed into one of outrage. Ringo felt slightly more unnerved when he saw her shoot her own glare at their manager.

“She’s a lunatic-” Brian cut himself off as he composed himself for a moment, moving to the other side of George and wrapping an arm around his shoulders as well.

“Come on, Ritchie, we’ve got to get him inside. I’ll deal with her in a moment.”

Ringo nodded. George braced himself for the walk. Not even three steps in George cried out in pain, leaning heavily onto Ringo as the wound was his other side.

“Need to take a moment, lad?” Brian asked him, a hint of concern in his voice. Through a grimace George shook his head, fixing himself to stand more upright and Ringo kind of wanted to force him to take a break.

“Nah, it’s… I’m good,” George answered slowly though it was an obvious lie, taking deep breaths as he spoke.

They helped George awkwardly hobble through the door and through the hallway. A walk that would take literal seconds took them almost two minutes.

“Forgive me for saying this,” Brian began as they stopped for a moment to allow George to collect himself. “But this is taking too long, I need to go back out with Mal to figure out what to do with that girl.”

George, who was now leaning against one of the walls, he nodded in understanding. “Could I suggest calling the police?” He asks, forcing a smile in a poor attempt to hide a wince.

“I’ll consider it.” Brian returned a rather sad smile before heading back outside.

When John and Paul see them enter the look on their faces is almost comical.

“ _What the hell?_ ” John practically yells as he shoots up from his seat, helping Ringo place George down on a chair nearby.

Paul can only stand and hover over them in shock, not entirely sure of what to do.

“What happened? Were you two mugged?” Paul asks after the owner announces he’ll be retrieving a first aid kit from a room in the back.

“ _No_ , some bird was trying to stab me and she probably would’ve gotten me if George hadn’t been there,” Ringo replies quickly before George can even open his mouth to say anything, his eyes darting down to the bloodstain on the guitarist’s side for a moment before turning his gaze back on Paul.

“Christ, Harrison, this is why you don’t go around playing hero. You could’ve gotten yourself killed, y’know,” John says quickly as he takes in a sharp breath, shaking his head as he stares down at the pale face of his friend. The almost scolding tone is probably just to hide his true worry.

“Yeah, well, if I wasn’t there, Ritchie could’ve been killed. I couldn’t just let that happen,” George shoots back, the thought of the drummer being in the position that George is in now almost too much for him to bear.

The owner finally comes back with an almost pathetic little box, with nothing but band-aids and gauze (but no tape to hold it).

“That’s all?” John says, practically outraged. Ringo takes the gauze and holds it against the wound. It’s at this moment Ringo finally notices just how much blood there really is.

Bright red soaked through the white undershirt. George’s pants were black, but the area around the wound was darker.

And as George moved his right hand towards the injury, as if to signal he wanted to take over holding the gauze, Ringo felt his stomach drop at the sight of his hand. Frankly, the only way he could effectively describe it was as if George had just finger painted with red paint.

It’s like the bleeding won't stop.

Though George wasn't bleeding _buckets_ , or even dripping from him, the flow was steady enough for them to finally realize they were going to need more than some gauze and a couple of band-aids.

It wasn’t until after they watched the girl being hauled off by not one, but two policemen.

She didn’t say a word to them as she passed by in handcuffs, but when the policemen briefly stopped to exchange words with the Owner she turned her head to face them, a glare of pure hatred was sent towards Ringo’s way.

Ringo shrank back a bit in response, John saw this exchange and immediately stood in front of their drummer, as if to shield him from her.

As the girl was finally pushed out Eppy made his way to the four huddled together.

“How are you feeling George?” Brian asked.

There was a moment of silence. George blinked when he realized their attention was on him. He turned to their manager as he finished processing the question.

“Fine….”

That was worrying.

The loud sigh Brian emitted brought the worried stares from George to the manager.

“Alright lads, help George stand up, we’re taking him to the hospital,” Brian announced.

John and Paul scrambled up at George’s side before Ringo could even move, so he ended up trailing them like some lost puppy as they headed towards Brian’s car.

Brian _may_ have driven above the speed limit.

“ _Eight stitches_ ,” Paul repeated, sounding almost impressed, “Didn’t seem that big of a wound.”

All four Beatles sat in a private room, three surrounding the youngest Beatle, who laid across the hospital bed resting from the night’s events.

George simply nodded his head, smiling in amusement.

“Doctor said it was deep, those scissors did a number on me.”

There was a moment of silence as John blinked, appearing to process what he'd just been told.

“ _She stabbed you with scissors?_ ” His voice going up in pitch due to his disbelief as he shakes his head, hardly believing his ears.

The night went on. Brian had managed to convince John and Paul to leave with Mal, only arguing with them for _ten_ minutes.

Brian himself had left after a policeman came to question them about the attack, promising to call them early in the morning to check on them.

It was a slow night for the hospital, which was why they hadn’t urged them to leave once they gave George a prescription for pain meds.

Ringo and George sat on the edge of the hospital bed, waiting for George to work up the courage to stand.

Ringo mustered his own courage to speak.

“Thank you, by the way,” he says to George, voice surprisingly low. George gives him a confused look.

“For what?”

Ringo turns to give him a look of disbelief. They’re sitting close enough for Ringo to gently nudge him with his shoulder.

“For saving me, you twat.”

“Oh.” That’s all George can bring himself to say. Ringo, not knowing what to do with himself, lowers his gaze to his hands on his lap.

“I didn’t...I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t saved me,” Ringo quietly admits and this time it’s George’s turn to stare at the other.

“But _you_ ended up getting hurt…” Ringo continues, George takes note of the sad look in his blue eyes, the way he’s curled into himself beside him.

“...She was after _me_ … _I_ should have gotten hurt, not _you_.”

For a moment George can only look down at the drummer. He ignores the way his side protests as he leans closer to the drummer.

“Ritchie…” George trails off softly.

Ringo doesn’t look back at him, so George does something that took more willpower out of him than throwing himself in front of a makeshift weapon.

George grabs Ringo by the chin and makes him look at him.

“Ritchie, I might’ve gotten hurt but I don't regret it, alright?” George tells him in a way that leaves no room for argument. “It was my choice to make and I made it ‘cause I care about you, I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”

George still hasn't let go of Ringo's face. Determined brown eyes look into awed blue eyes.

George seems to snap out of it and drops his hand. He moves his head to face forward again and the bland grey wall in front of him. George awkwardly clears his throat, ignoring the way his face is starting to heat up before going on.

"I… I care about you," he repeats, softer than before.

The room is silent again.

The sheets crinkle beside him and George feels a warm set of lips plant themselves on his cheek.

George tenses and the lips are gone in an instant.

He turns to Ringo, whose eyes are wide in panic. A ringed hand is covering his mouth as he stutters.

"I, uh, I'm sorry, I… I thou-"

Ringo stops his rambling when George grabs his hands, holding them tightly as he brings them down to his lap. For a moment all George does is stare at him, but before Ringo can get another word in George leans forward and kisses him square on the lips.

Ringo is shocked to say the least, but he wastes no time in kissing back. George lets go of the hold of his hands to take hold of Ringo's face. Ringo simply grabs George's jacket to pull him closer.

They part only because George lets out a hiss of pain, a hand instinctively going to his injury.

"Are you alright?" Ringo finds himself asking again for the tenth time that day. George gives him a nod as he pulls up his shirt to look at the bandage.

"Yeah, just pulled it a bit, I'm fine."

Ringo nods as he moves to stand up. "We should probably leave soon, we need to get you home to rest."

"Only if you stay over," George says back with a smile. Ringo laughs as he helps him stand.

The injury gives them an excuse to walk close together to Ringo's car.


End file.
